Nonprofit organizations working on environmental, social, and economic issues have been springing up around the world in record numbers in recent years, bringing social and political change on local, national, and international levels. The nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have had a major impact on everything from forest protection to human rights to the decommissioning of nuclear reactors. Lester Salamon, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University, calls the NGO phenomenon “a global association revolution that may prove to be as significant … as the rise of the nation-state.” The rise of computer technology and the Internet have played a big role in helping groups get information they need and spread the word about their efforts.
